The Washington Capitals have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, dropping the powerhouse, Cup favorite Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in overtime.

When the Caps were thirsty for goals, offensive dynamo Jay Beagle gave them drink. When the Caps were hungry for moar, hotshot showboat Marcus Johansson served a piping hot pair of baked yukon goal potatoes. Instantly, after rego, the bummer streak is over!

The Capitals seemed lifeless during their first two periods of play against the Sabres. And then the third period happened.

After dominating for much of the period, the Caps went to the man advantage after Evander Kane slashed Lars Eller. Power play stalwart Jay BeagleMarcus Johansson would score on a beautiful deflection goal six seconds later.

My varsity basketball coach once singled me out during a film session my senior year. I hit a three pointer on the baseline and then pumped my fist all the way back up the court. He re-wound the tape and played it back 10 times in a row, trying to humiliate me in front of my teammates. “Act like you’ve done it before, IAN!”

The Caps have been hurting for goals of late, so on Monday night they went to the well. They went to the guys you go to when you want a goal. They went to those ol’ reliable goal scorers we all know from days of old.

The Caps are up against the Buffalo Sabres tonight, both teams that are struggling in different ways. Luckily they have the home rink advantage but the team could have a rough time facing off against Jack Eichel, who returned to the league on November 29th. Eichel was battling a high ankle sprain. Nonetheless, it looked like nothing had happened since he scored two points upon returning, including his first goal of the season. That will not help us.

As for the Caps, we have a bit of a line shakeup with the return of Winnik and Chorney. They are taking the places of Connolly and Schmidt. You should tune in not only to hear the sound of the chorn horn, but to see if the Caps can actually score on the power play. Help.

The Washington Capitals have lost three straight games. Their offense has been anemic lately. But one aspect of their game has become infamous this season: the once vaunted power play. After being one of the league’s top units since the Bruce Boudreau days, the squad is ranked 22nd in the NHL this season, converting less than 15 percent of the time. In response, Caps fans have incessantly mocked and or panicked about the man-advantage.

But head coach Barry Trotz has a solution: Jay Beagle. The center, 31, has never scored a regular-season power play goal in his nine year NHL career.

The Washington Capitals are sitting in an unfamiliar position, fourth in the suddenly unstoppable Metropolitan division, currently holding a wild card spot. While their underlying possession numbers continue to be solid (second at score adjusted five-on-five play), their overall performance to date could be described as unconvincing.

Preventing goals-against is not their issue. On defense, the Caps are allowing the third fewest five-on-five shot attempts in the league. Thanks to those low shots against and a .940 team save percentage, they are also allowing goals against at the third-lowest rate.

The situation could be worse on offense. The Caps are producing shots at the ninth highest rate, and goals are coming at the 11th highest rate. By most metrics, they are still a good team. But, as we’ll see, they are being kept afloat at even-strength mostly by some familiar faces. Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Caps could really benefit from some added production by depth forwards and the defense.